synthetic oil

[Heller]

I plan on running my current car(07 Tc) to the ground and I want to take the best care of it i personally can in the meantime.

I've never done an oil change, but im sure with some goggling I'd figure it out.
one issue I've herd is the tc is so cramped, it might be hard for a n00b.

question time

1.is synthetic worth it? I need an oil change and im wondering if i should take it to the shop up the street and pay $20 and be in and out in 30 mins, or use synthetic oil and do it myself.


2.How often should i change the oil if i want to take pristine care of the car.


3. Whats the best synthetic oil to use? I've gerd Royal purp is the best, what does AT recommend?

 

[zerocool84]

We have had many threads on this. I'll make it easy. Just use whatever your owners manual says. Can't go wrong with that.

 

[thescreensavers]

I actually just been reading tons of articles about synthetic oils. I am going to switch to it on my car and I'll do it my self. I am still going to keep the Manufacturers Intervals of 3750 miles. I googled Royal Purple vs Mobil 1 or vs AMSOil. Theirs a few comparing AMSOIL with Mobil 1 but eh. You will always get people saying I use x and my engine still going strong at 100k miles. Royal Purple is one of the only syntetic oil that uses some type of ingredient that with high heat can turn into pieces of granit. Some thing like that. Well they all are "high quality" synth oils and I am just going to go with Mobile 1 since its not too expensive and not bad. AMSoil seems to be the best from some reviews but there are only 2 places that sell that stuff localy and they are further away then the auto store near me, so meh I am still actually not sure if Ill go with Mobile 1. Either or they seem good.

Also go for a good quality oil filter. I found out my Nissan Oil filter that the dealer puts in has a cardboard top inside of it which is crap. I am going to either get a Mobil 1 or a K&N Oil filter which use a metal top and are of higher quality. I am going to own my car so make sure it will be as trouble free as possible.

Read this also

 

[DVad3r]

I use synthetic. In my car I've been using Quaker State and Penzoil Platinum. Read some oil analysis recently and those 2 oils aren't the best. Will most likely switch to Amsoil XL series next oil change.

As for what synthetic oil is the best it's Amsoil, 2nd Mobil 1. I run Amsoil in my bike and it's awesome.

If you want cheap Amsoil let me know Ill hook you up

 

[DVad3r]

Motoroil:

http://www.modernoils.com/medi...MotorOilComparison.pdf

Motorcycle Oil:

http://www.modernoils.com/medi...torcycleComparison.pdf

(pg 23-24 have rankings)

 

[TimeKeeper]

I am just curious, there are so many different kind of oil on the market.
But why only certain motor oil got approved from certain auto manufacture?

I understand some claim one is better than others, but if engineers of a high performance car manufacture only approve of certain oil, wouldn't that mean that particular brand is indeed better? ( at least for that specific car ? )

EX.
A car manufacture has requirement for their car to run with MB 229.5 spec.
Unfortunately, it seems only Mobil 1 0W40 in the U.S. meet the spec.
Now... some other brand claim to perform better than Mobil 1 0w40, does that mean it is safe to use that particular brand?

And the real question is..if you own a car from that particular manufacture, WILL YOU put something other than its require brand and grade?

 

[PM650]

I haven't yet seen a car that required a particular brand of oil yet Although maybe this is done on newer cars? (my newest is a 95) I would be inclined to run whatever I think is best anyways, regardless of dealer spec. I run mobil 1 in everything, including 2-strokes (amsoil sometimes too but that shits expensive & not retail).

 

[Vette73]

Syn is only really good for turbo, air cooled, etc... type motors that are really hard on the oil. The other place it does ok is if you are extending your drain intervals.


But if you are changing it every 3700 (or less then 5000 miles) then you are wasting your money. You will see little to no benifit. Use regular oil and change at 5000miles or so and your car will run just as well for most.
That and don;t use Fram filters.


My Corvette and CTS get Syn oil at 1 year or 10k. My truck is regular 5w30 oil at 6months or 5k.
The syn oil I use is what ever 5w30 is on sale. I have some Pennzoil, quaker state, Napa, vavoline, and maybe some M1 right nwo I use for my 2 cars and my SiL's audi.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: thescreensavers
I actually just been reading tons of articles about synthetic oils. I am going to switch to it on my car and I'll do it my self. I am still going to keep the Manufacturers Intervals of 3750 miles.

ok, unless you're racing, or doing something ungodly rough to the engine, that's a huge waste of money.

I use synthetic in the summers because I autocross, I'm a little paranoid on that. But still change out at about 6000 miles. UOA's (used oil analysis) come back fine, and pretty state I can go further. I've done close to 7500 and that was about the limit based on the UOA. This was based on pennzoil premium.

Which brings the real point, we can all guestimate all we want, but if anyone wants a real answer, you gotta dole the money to do a UOA.

 

[LTC8K6]

Use the oil your mfg says to use and change it when they say to change it.

For 95% of people, synthetic oil is a totally unnecessary waste of their money.

 

[thescreensavers]

Originally posted by: randomlinh

Originally posted by: thescreensavers
I actually just been reading tons of articles about synthetic oils. I am going to switch to it on my car and I'll do it my self. I am still going to keep the Manufacturers Intervals of 3750 miles.

ok, unless you're racing, or doing something ungodly rough to the engine, that's a huge waste of money.

I use synthetic in the summers because I autocross, I'm a little paranoid on that. But still change out at about 6000 miles. UOA's (used oil analysis) come back fine, and pretty state I can go further. I've done close to 7500 and that was about the limit based on the UOA. This was based on pennzoil premium.

Which brings the real point, we can all guestimate all we want, but if anyone wants a real answer, you gotta dole the money to do a UOA.

Well, the reason I am going to stay with the normal Intervals is for Warranty reasons. After the warranty is over then I will probably extend it. Everything I read about synth vs regular says its better in all ways for your engine. So since I am going to keep this car for a long time I am going to put synth in. If I do it DIY it will cost me exactly the same amount when I go to the dealer. So its not too bad.

 

[Gillbot]

Just read through here, this topic has been beat to death.

BTW, what's goggling?

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Gillbot
Just read through here, this topic has been beat to death.

BTW, what's goggling?

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/goggling

 

[KIAman]

1. Nope - oil is oil and as long as you follow a good OCI and use the correct viscosity, you are golden.


2. OCI can only be determined on a per car basis. If you really want to be exact, do an oil change at 3k and send samples to a lab. As per their recommendation, you can either extend your OCI, decrease it or leave it.


3. Best is subjective. The only way to get a good answer is to check out Bob is the oil guy and research oil analysis and decide for yourself which has the best combination of oil breakdown and low wear.

Do I use synthetic? - Yes, bmw specifically requires BMW Synthetic or Euro-Castrol Synthetic (and also they pay for it so, meh).

 

[Arkaign]

Btw, all this stuff about the 'expense' of using synthetic oil is a little silly. Let's use some average baseline numbers :

$2/gallon gasoline
25mpg average mixed fuel economy
5,000 mile oil change schedule
$3/qt Conventional Oil
$6/qt Synthetic Oil (The regular stuff that you see at Wal-Mart, Autozone, etc)
$10/qt Royal Purple (or other premium paraffin oils such as Schaeffers, etc)
$6 oil filter
5gts per oil change

Okay, now that we've got some good averages (you can easily modify the figures to reflect your personal fuel economy, oil change schedule, and local prices for oil, but the principle will remain the same obviously) .. let's get some results :

These costs include the pure consumption costs (fuel, oil, oil filter) for driving a car 20,000 miles with the rules/prices above, this includes NO other maintenance such as air filter replacement, brakes, gear oil, etc, etc.

Cost to drive 20,000 miles with Conventional oil : $1684
Cost to drive 20,000 miles with Synthetic oil $1744
Cost to drive 20,000 miles with Royal Purple $1824

So tell me, where's the big expense with using Synthetic oil? Compared to the overall cost of operating a car, it's a minute difference. If you change your own oil, the cost difference should only be about $15 to use Synthetic instead of Conventional. I've had cars that lasted into the 400k mile range, and I've always put Synthetic oil in them. I'm not saying it's for everyone, and I'm not saying Synthetic oil is going to magically make your car run awesome, but it's not a lot of price difference in the big picture. For anyone planning on keeping their car for a long time, I think Synthetic makes sense. For those that just jump from car to car every year or two, nah.

 

[DVad3r]

Tons of hate when it comes to synthetic here on this forum. It's actually not that much more money to run synthetic as Arkaign pointed out.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Gillbot
Just read through here, this topic has been beat to death.

BTW, what's goggling?

Zee goggling! It does nothing!

ZV

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: DVad3r
Tons of hate when it comes to synthetic here on this forum. It's actually not that much more money to run synthetic as Arkaign pointed out.

There's a difference between "hate" and "the acknowledgment that there are precisely zero scientifically-verifiable benefits to using synthetic oil in a water-cooled, non-turbo, street-driven automobile".

For the vast majority of street-driven cars, synthetic oil is beyond overkill. It's like using water-cooling on a 486 DX/2 66MHz when running it at stock settings. It's not going to hurt anything but it's not going to help either.

ZV

 

[LTC8K6]

Conventional in the 5qt jug is closer to $2 a quart, actually.

But why waste money on synthetic oil? Even if it is only $100 a year you are wasting?

Make no mistake, most people using synthetic oil are wasting the money, whatever amount it may be.

 

[SonnyDaze]

Nope. Pennzoil. Straight. 5w-30.

 

[PM650]

I'm curious if anyone here has ever opened up an engine after ~100k+ on regular oil - it ain't a pretty sight sometimes. Thats why I run synthetic. Also it smells nice when you run it in an old oil-burning car

 

[Gillbot]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Conventional in the 5qt jug is closer to $2 a quart, actually.

But why waste money on synthetic oil? Even if it is only $100 a year you are wasting?

Make no mistake, most people using synthetic oil are wasting the money, whatever amount it may be.

Oil cost can vary greatly, but the point as ZV stated is that many buy synthetic and don't take advantage of it properly. Many still change synthetic at 3k miles and etc. Others go to the opposite extreme and change it every 10-20k based on outrageous oil manufacturers claims. Bottom line is, you need to determine what best fits your budget, car and driving style.

 

[LTC8K6]

Well, most people shop around. I just saw Syntec 5G jug + a filter for $24.99, for example. Probably because they are going to EDGE.

Well, if the vehicle is under warranty, you can't extend the OCI.

So extended OCI's do not factor in to any calculations of the cost of synthetic vs regular, which is likely why they were not considered in the comparison above.

If the vehicle is not under warranty, I don't care what you put in the crankcase or oil tank.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Conventional in the 5qt jug is closer to $2 a quart, actually.

But why waste money on synthetic oil? Even if it is only $100 a year you are wasting?

Make no mistake, most people using synthetic oil are wasting the money, whatever amount it may be.

I was loose with the figures on purpose, you can also get 5gt Mobil 1 at Wal-Mart for $20 ($4/qt). Look back at my figures, it's FAR less than $100/year, unless you're driving 40k miles a year or something. Given that most people drive 10-20k a year, I put it on the high side.

The difference is $60 when comparing $3/qt conventional to $6/qt synthetic over a 20k mile period, with 4 oil changes on a 5k interval.

The difference becomes only $40 if you use the $2 and $4 oil prices as the measure. If you put 7500 mile interval in there, the price difference becomes even smaller.

And finally, on a per-year basis, someone that drives let's say 12k miles a year, the price difference shrinks again on a per-year basis. The difference becomes something like $15-$25.

Would synthetic be a waste for someone who isn't planning to keep a car for a very long time? Probably. For those of us who want to keep a car to 100k, 150k, 200k, and beyond, synthetic is worth the added peace of mind for a few bucks more a year. The best advantage of synthetic vs. conventional IMHO isn't necessarily the lubricating properties, but rather the fact that synthetic doesn't carbonize the way conventional oil does. Ever pop the oil fill cap off an old motor that's run conventional oil for it's lifetime? See all that black tarlike buildup? That's carbonization. My dad's old F150, after far north of half a million miles with no rebuild, when the mechanic looked at the internals after it finally seized (my older brother overheated it severely), the motor looked virtually new inside.

 

[LTC8K6]

Yes, this topic is common here. $20 is a lot of money to poor folks.

For my in warranty Jeep's Hemi, I follow Jeep's recommendations for oil and OCI.

For my long out of warranty but very low mileage 1995 Taurus, which I inherited when my Dad quit driving, I use synthetic.

I have no doubt, that when the head gaskets went on my Taurus 3.8L and I drove it many times and many miles with the temp gauge pegged while trying to figure out what was wrong, it was the Mobil 1 synthetic oil that I put in when I changed it that saved the engine.

It presently has Pennzoil Platinum in it because there was no Mobil 1 to be found in my area anywhere when I last changed the oil.